NEW YORK — New York Yankees first baseman Oswaldo Cabrera scooped the ball and ran toward first base. Before he stepped on the bag for the final out, manager Aaron Boone had already turned to high-five the person closest to him.
After a tense day of decisions on the field and off of it, Boone could finally exhale.
“Good way to start,” he said.
Just about every decision Boone made paid off as the top-seeded Yankees squeezed out a huge 6-5 win over the fifth-seeded Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the best-of-five American League Division Series on Saturday night. Game 2 will come Monday night, following Sunday’s off day.
And it happened as Boone has perhaps as a big a spotlight on him as ever. He guided the Yankees to the best record and top seed in the AL. He also faces tremendous expectations with the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds already knocked out of the postseason as he plays out the final guaranteed year of his contract. The Yankees hold a team option for Boone in 2025, and they haven’t given any indication they’re thinking of moving on from him.
“I mean, what a game.”
– Aaron Boone on the Yankees’ tough Game 1 win against the Royals pic.twitter.com/SgwMVPlSdl
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 6, 2024
Earlier in the week, Boone was asked what’s different about experiencing the playoffs compared to playing in the regular season.
“Every play is so important and so scrutinized,” he said, “and the biggest thing for me is, regardless of what happened — good, bad, indifferent — you really got to keep moving because the next play is too damn important, right?”
So is each choice, and the 51-year-old started to get it right when he was filling out the lineup card.
Starting Alex Verdugo in left field over highly regarded rookie Jasson Domínguez proved to be the right decision as Verdugo delivered two hits — including the go-ahead RBI in the seventh inning — a walk and two impressive defensive plays after hearing boos during pregame introductions.
Boone had called the choice to start Verdugo “fairly” easy in his mind, opting for Verdugo’s experience as an eight-year veteran and as the better defender over Domínguez’s offensive potential that comes with concerns about his defense.
“Just trusting that he’s going to be ready for the moment,” Boone said of Verdugo.
And choosing Cabrera to start at first base over rookie Ben Rice also worked out. Cabrera went 1-for-4 with a double and was steady at first base, especially when he made a nice pick on a short throw from shortstop Anthony Volpe in the third inning.
“Thought he did a real nice job for us over there,” the manager said.
Then the moves Boone made during the game played out just about how he hoped.
Removing ace Gerrit Cole after just 80 pitches after he gave up a single to start the sixth inning resulted in one out from reliever Tim Hill before Volpe’s sloppy throwing error put runners on second and third. Hill then gave up a soft single up the middle to pinch hitter Garrett Hampson that allowed both runners to score and the Royals to take a 5-4 lead.
Bringing in the much-maligned Clay Holmes, who lost his closer job in September, worked out. Holmes got the next five outs without allowing a run before Boone turned the ball over to reliever Tommy Kahnle for two outs. Tapping Luke Weaver for the four-out save was the icing on the cake for Boone as Weaver dominated with three strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Boone’s counterpart, the Royals’ Matt Quatraro, didn’t strike gold every time. He watched from the dugout as lefty Angel Zerpa melted down in relief of starter Michael Wacha in the fifth.
Zerpa entered with a runner on first before surrendering a single to Juan Soto and a walk to Aaron Judge to load the bases for Austin Wells, who then drew a full-count walk to tie things at 3-3. And when John Schreiber took over for Zerpa, Schreiber got two outs before issuing a full-count walk to Volpe to make it 4-3 Yankees. Of course, pinch hitting Hampson in the sixth worked out, but then Sam Long and Michael Lorenzen combined to give up the game-tying and go-ahead runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Quatraro lamented the Royals pitchers issuing eight walks but said the Royals would be undaunted by their Game 1 performance.
“We’re here to play,” he said. “We’re confident. We know it’s going to be a tough game, clearly, but I’m not worried about their morale or anything like that.”
Before the game, Boone was asked how different it would be managing with off days between every game except for games 3 and 4.
“It’s a little bit different,” Boone said. “You’re a little more aggressive in situations. You get a little more creative sometimes.”
Boone’s aggression and creativity with his lineup and in-game decisions were major factors in giving the Yankees a much-needed Game 1 victory.
(Photo of Aaron Boone being introduced before Game 1: Elsa / Getty Images)
